This invention relates to a scale and is particularly concerned with a scale incorporating strain gauges.
The invention is particularly concerned with a scale having a plurality, preferably two weighing discs associated with a common platform. While various aspects of the invention are useable for a wide variety of purposes, the invention is particularly useful in the weighing of cylinders for storage and shipment of fluids, especially gases, such as chlorine gas. For this purpose, the arrangement of the invention comprises a base or platform having two weighing discs associated therewith and having an upright support or standard carrying the meters for reading the weights of the cylinders and preferably also having support or fastening means which may be employed to position the cylinders on the weighing discs associated the platform.
One of the objectives of the invention is to provide a load cell suspension mechanism for the individual weighing discs, each disc being suspended from three equispaced load cells, with the load cells for the two discs arranged so as to minimize communication of platform deflections in the region between the two weighing discs, notwithstanding the fact that the two weighing discs are mounted in side-by-side relation on a common supporting platform.
Another object of the invention is to provide load cells for supporting the weighing discs, which cells are specially configured to provide for reduction in the height of mounting the weighing discs, notwithstanding the location of the load cells under the weighing discs. This reduction in the height of mounting the weighing discs is of importance because it makes possible reduction in the height of the platform surrounding the discs and thus facilitates loading and unloading of the articles to be weighed, such as chlorine gas cylinders.
A further objective of the invention is to improve the accuracy and reliability of the individual load cells employed for each weighing disc, each load cell, in accordance with the invention, having associated therewith a multiple component strain gauge, preferably a strain gauge incorporating four components mounted on the load cell in a novel manner providing for minimization of inaccuracy in readings.
The arrangement of the load cells for each individual weighing disc, the manner of suspension of the disc from the platform, and the arrangement of the quadruple component strain gauges on the load cells are features which cooperate in increasing the accuracy of reading and eliminating introduction of inaccuracies in the readings even where multiple weighing discs are associated with a common platform, for reasons which will be more fully brought out hereinafter, following the description of the structure employed according to the present invention.